Masters and Masters

In *Masters and Masters*, Dessau J considered orders relating to a child born in March 2001. The proceedings involved the mother and father of the child, and the court was tasked with determining the future arrangements for the child's care and welfare.

The central legal issues before the court were the nature of parental responsibility, the child's living arrangements, and the father's future contact with the child. The court also had to consider the role of the Independent Children's Lawyer and the provision of information between the parents regarding the child's schooling and health.

Dessau J ordered that previous orders concerning the child be discharged. The court established equal shared parental responsibility for the child's long-term care, welfare, and development. The child was ordered to live with the mother, while the question of the father's time with the child was reserved. The parents were directed to continue attending a Parenting Orders Program. The Independent Children's Lawyer was discharged. The court also made specific orders regarding the mother's obligation to keep the father informed of her address, telephone numbers, and any serious illness of the child, and to authorise schools to provide the father with reports and communicate with him about the child's progress. The court noted that the particulars of the obligations and consequences of contravention were set out in an attached Fact Sheet. All existing applications were dismissed.